The Temple of Elemental Evil Interview
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GB: Will you be making all spell levels available? Can you share some of the higher level spells you plan on incorporating into the game, and possibly even elaborate on some of the new spell effects? Tim: We are supporting spell levels 0 through 5, due to our character level cap of 10. A limited number of higher level spells are available on scrolls, too. A cool high level spell is Cone of Cold. Thanks to our spell targeting system, you actually get a cone, centered on your character, that you rotate around to see what targets will be struck by the cone. And the spell effect is beautiful, with a wave of frost moving out along the cone and leaving behind a floating mist.
All of our spells are supported by the nifty targeting system. Fireball gets a circle that lets you precisely target an area, Burning Hands shows the exact arc that you will cover in flame, and so forth. My favorite spell right now is Magic Missile. Not only does it look (and sound!) cool, but the missiles are individually targetable, just like in the PnP game. Our test map has a little section in it for goblin popping with that spell. :)
GB: How customizable is each character with regards to appearance? In Neverwinter Nights, for instance, only three things could change the character's appearance: armor (in one piece), helmet and weapons. Will ToEE include cloaks, boots, etc? If so, will these types of items change the appearance of your character?
Tim: In terms of appearance, we have armor, boots, gloves, helmets, weapons (in one or both hands), shields, robes, and cloaks. Our robes and cloaks are beautiful, by the way. We simulate the cloth, so when you move, the robes and cloaks billow out behind you. And while this is nice eye candy, you can also identify the faction of many enemies by the color of their cloaks. And these enemies often identify you in the same way. Did I mention we like to make everything in the game matter? :)
GB: How much control will the player have over characters that join the party during the game? For example, will hirelings and other NPCs that join the party be able to help carry any equipment found during the game, and will the player be able to manipulate their inventories? If so, does an NPC leave behind any magic or quest-related items he or she might be carrying if they leave the party?
Tim: NPC's join the party with their own agendas, and you are not able to see their character stats or inventory. Some NPC's demand extra or special shares of loot when they join you (one wizard demands every wizard scroll you find). You can give them items to use, but you may not be able to get those items back. As there are no items that are absolutely required to finish the game, an NPC who leaves the group takes his inventory with him.
We are still debating the control issue in combat. Our NPC's have their own agendas, so we'd prefer that they control themselves. But given the limitation of AI and also the fact that a lot of people prefer controlling their followers in combat, we may allow such control, with ramifications later. For instance, if you make your good follower kill a good creature, he may leave the party after combat is over.
GB: The recent Pool of Radiance was turn-based, but combat could potentially be very slow, requiring you to watch as a large group of monsters slowly moved closer to your party - one at a time. How long does does a round of combat in ToEE last in real time? Do you plan on adding an option for players to change the speed of movement in such cases?
Tim: The length of combat in ToEE is really dependent on the number of opponents and your relative power. We are sensitive to the issue of slow down in turn-based combat, so we are working on a way to allow NPC's to take simultaneous turns when their initiaive rolls allow it. For example, if PC A goes, followed by three zombies and then PC B, we will allow the three zombies to all move at once. We still allow you to make any possible attacks of opportunity on them, and it really speeds up play.
GB: How interactive will the world be? Will players be able to interact with objects in the game other than levers, switches and doors?
Tim: If you are asking if you can move furniture or blow open walls, no, our engine and our pre-rendered backgrounds don't allow it. On the plus side, this means no crate stacking or jumping puzzles. :)
Our thanks to Infogrames for setting up this interview and to Tim for answering our questions!
